SEO in 2014: What business owners need to know in today’s world – Preview

This is the topic of my talk at Thursday’s New Media Breakfast in Edinburgh, which is then repeated in Glasgow on 27th of June.

You’ve probably heard lots of chat about how SEO has changed dramatically over the past few years and some even claim that SEO is in fact dead which is a bit dramatic if you ask me. My aim is to put that in perspective and illustrate how SEO has evolved and how it is very much still alive.

Yes it’s become more complex, yes some things no longer work, yes great marketing is an essential and perpetually increasing part of the mix. But let’s face it, the desire to rank in search engines is as strong as ever. It’s clear to see that the need for algorithms to surface and and promote your business rather than your competitors is only getting increasingly important.

My key message, and it’s very simple in theory, will be the need for your approach to be “strategy-heavy” – you should be focusing on providing what the searcher (your target market with specific needs) rather than what the search engines are looking for; customers first, search engines second (yep that’s right, the oldest trick in the book).

I will make the case for seeing SEO not as a marketing tactic or even a strategy but instead an outcome. A marketing outcome.

Here’s some of the other things I’m intending to touch base on:

Have expectations become unrealistic?

The role of keyword research has changed, are you up to speed?

Why on-page SEO is almost not worth the effort.

The merging of paid and organic

The changing cost of SEO

What SEO should look like in 2014

Apps and SEO

The ongoing value of links

Reliability of social signals and how you should approach them when thinking about SEO

The changing professions of long term SEO practitioners

I very much hope to see you either in Edinburgh or Glasgow. If there’s anything you’d specifically like to hear about there is still time to influence my talk! Here’s the booking details: